Historic House In Fort Smith To Host Bourbon Tasting

Historic House In Fort Smith To Host Bourbon Tasting

TIMES RECORD FILE PHOTO / The Clayton House at 514 N. Sixth St. in Fort Smith is seen in December 2012.

Fast Facts

"Sippin’ On Sixth Street: Judge Clayton’s Southern Soiree"

When: 7-10 p.m. Aug. 9

Where: Clayton House, 514 N. Sixth St.

The event includes a live auction, heavy hors d’ouevres, music, bourbon sampling, other beverages, door prizes and more. Proceeds from the event will go toward the Clayton House’s ongoing preservation and programs.

Reservations are $50 and can be made by calling 783-3000 and at claytonhouse.org.

“Right from the very beginning, this has been very unique,” she said of the event, which will raise money for the ongoing preservation and programs at the Clayton House. “We’re so excited about the response we’ve had.

“This idea came from the gentlemen on our board, and they think it will cater to a lot of people who haven’t stepped foot into the Victorian-style Clayton House before,” Moncrief added.

Aiming to include women, the event will feature Bruford Distribution’s bourbon-tasting and an auction of guns sponsored by Fort Chaffee Outfitters, while the Houston-based Yellow Rose Distillery will showcase award-winning spirits for those attending, she said. The guns auctioned will include five hunting models, two home-protection models, two personal-protection models and one plinking/target-shooting model; another plinking rifle will be given as a door prize, Moncrief said.

“We don’t hear about this kind of party often, so with it and with the ambiance of the Clayton House, it will be special,” she said. “The ambiance and the whole history of Judge Clayton working, those outlaws and the court will be exciting.”

Clayton purchased the house in 1882 in Fort Smith’s oldest neighborhood and renovated it to double the size of the original home that was built in 1852. He served as the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas under four presidents, beginning in 1874.

Acting as chief prosecutor for Judge Isaac C. Parker’s court, Clayton prosecuted more than 10,000 cases, with most of those cases involving crimes committed in the former Indian Territory.

Moncrief said organizers hope the event raises $12,000 for the Clayton House.

“The whole 1880s setting of the Clayton House, along with the bourbon-tasting and the auction, when you put all of that together, it really is a refreshing idea of fun for a lot of people.”